Heart, not size, is Rakeem Cato's key to success in Alouettes debut

The newest celebrity in Montreal claims he can still walk the streets of the city and go unnoticed. And the latest Alouettes first-string quarterback — we’ve lost count of the number since Anthony Calvillo retired — stayed after practice on Monday to get in some additional work.

Fame has not yet corrupted Rakeem Cato. We’re guessing it never will.

“Life’s going pretty good. I think I did a good job and I’m taking it one day at a time. I’m in a position where this is still a learning stage. Whatever I need to do to make myself better and to learn quicker, I need to do it,” Cato said. “To get a few throws in after practice is a blessing. It’s going to pay off on game day.”

As pro debuts go, few have fared better in Canadian Football League history. While the last 16 quarterbacks to make their debuts have gone 10-6 — perhaps because most teams are in position to be patient — overall, first-time starters are 37-70-1 since 1995, according to the league.

Cato, of course, was pressed into service when the Als lost Jonathan Crompton and Dan LeFevour to injuries in the opening game. It was Montreal offensive co-ordinator Turk Schonert who ultimately decided to start Cato over Canadian rookie Brandon Bridge, the team’s fourth-round draft choice this year.

“It’s kind of a gut feeling. You have to go with our instincts sometimes,” explained Schonert, in his first season as the Als’ OC after coaching the receivers in 2014. “He (Cato) throws a good ball; Brandon does as well. But the big thing with me, (Cato) has a knack for seeing the field well, even if he doesn’t know the system. But when he has the ball in his hands, he had a knack for seeing who was open.”

As proficient as was Cato, he could not have excelled without the assistance of Schonert, who called a brilliant game. Schonert repeatedly put Cato in position to succeed, calling shorter routes, but higher-percentage passing plays — screens to the receivers, who then made plays. Schonert identified Cato’s strengths and exploited them, always keeping the weaknesses in mind as well.

To say nobody saw this coming would be a gross understatement.

“You have to have execution by the players,” Schonert said, modestly. “He has great composure and made great decisions. He saw the field. He was accurate and played well.”

Cato, only 23, is listed at 6 feet and 178 pounds. Both measurements might be a slight stretch. He’s certainly the anomaly in quarterback meetings — Crompton, LeFevour, Bridge and the injured Tanner Marsh all well over 6 feet. There have been small quarterbacks who have succeeded in the CFL, like Doug Flutie, Tracy Ham and Damon Allen. But the trend, more and more, is to sign tall and majestic redwoods.

While a smaller pivot must rely on speed, to a certain extent, more goes into the game than that, explained Schonert, who coached Flutie in the NFL.

“Those guys, they’ve always played a little smaller. They know how to play the game, how to find lanes to see,” Schonert said. “You don’t see over people, you have to see between people.

“He (Cato) has the ability to change his angle of throwing and be accurate. Doug had the same ability. He could drop his arm down. They had to do that because they were smaller. Those things are just innate. You don’t teach those things. He has that feel for it.”

Cato said he has no idea why the coaches selected him over Bridge, who’s 6-foot-5 and played the final 20 minutes against Ottawa, after LeFevour went down with a season-ending dislocated shoulder on his second play from scrimmage. And Cato said he’ll never succumb to a lack of size. He said he has no concerns over the size of his opponent, or how big the defensive-lineman might be in pursuit of him.

“You can’t coach heart,” he stated emphatically. “You need a lot of heart to play this game. That and effort are uncoachable. I have to play with heart and not worry about how big my opponent is. Those things I never think about when I’m playing. I just go in and believe in myself first.”

The CFL is full of one-hit wonders at the quarterback position. Schonert’s mandate now is to keep Cato ahead of the curve. Teams have film of him now and will be able to devise plans and make adjustments.

“We just have to keep building. It’s not all about him. It’s about our offence, too,” Schonert said. “Teams are going to get film on Cato but we’re going to grow. We’re going to change and do different things every week. They have to figure it out.”

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